WWE: 10 Most Unoriginal Aspects Of The Fiend

After nearly a year away from WWE, Bray Wyatt returned to tremendous fanfare at SummerSlam 2019. The days of cult leader Wyatt were gone, and now the WWE Universe was treated to a mentally torn murder clown. The slow, methodic build of his new character brought fans in, and if merch sales were any indication, the new schtick was a hit.

Whether met with great reception or booed out of the building (oh, how the scars of Hell in a Cell 2019 never healed), there was no denying ‘The Fiend’ knew how to get fans talking. On one side, there were the surreal FireFly Funhouse segments to garner interests. And on the other, there was a cross between Pennywise and The Joker incapacitating his opponents in the ring.

And every time 'The Fiend's popularity tended to wane, a fresh creative direction brought him back into the fold. Fans have witnessed such as of late with the pairing of Wyatt and Alexa Bliss.

However, for as many original ideas Wyatt put into his new persona, he also borrowed quite a few from wrestling history to help ensure fans kept talking.

Puppets have been a staple of 'The Fiend' persona, tracing back to Bray Wyatt’s teaser vignettes. But Wyatt wasn’t the only wrestler to ever incorporate puppets into an act. There have been multiple instances of puppetry in WWE alone.

In 1998, Mankind attempted to cheer up Mr McMahon at a local medical facility utilizing a sock puppet with a squeaky voice. Mr Socko would become a regular feature for Mick Foley, showing up in skits and serving as a gross glove for the Mandible Claw.

Paying homage to Foley, Santino Marella adopted a reptilian sock puppet of his own and wore it over his hands when he applied one of wrestling’s more ridiculous moves, The Cobra.

Another instance of bizarre ventriloquism in WWE came with the addition of Rocco to the Legion of Doom. It was a doll the group carried around as their mascot, and the concept bombed with the fans. Animal believed the idea came from Vince McMahon directly and might have been a rib related to Hawk returning from a Wellness Policy violation

The instances mentioned above all have humor in common (aside from Rocco, which was only funny to one CEO.), which has helped Wyatt stand out. Rather than restrict his cast to cheesy zingers on the Firefly Funhouse, the puppets maintain a sinister light with a dash of melancholy and brooding introspection. Original? No. Different. Yes.